Tickets now on sale for 33rd Candlelight Stroll at Strawbery Banke Museum

Saturday

Nov 17, 2012 at 3:15 AMNov 17, 2012 at 11:38 AM

PORTSMOUTH — Candlelight Stroll at Strawbery Banke Museum, now in its 33rd year, offers visitors a glimpse into an authentic “Winter’s Eve on Puddle Dock.” The experience that is one of New Hampshire’s most-treasured holiday events is a family tradition for many who return year after year to savor what’s new as well as their favorite details.

Families are drawn to the magic of an authentic “old-time” Christmas, when night watchmen walked and cheery bonfires warmed passersby. Visitors travel in a horse-drawn carriage along the lanes lit with real candle lanterns. The historic houses are decorated to their eras with fresh greens and dried herbs and flowers collected from the museum gardens. Music accents Candlelight Stroll in multiple ways: an 18th century harpsichord in Chase House, folk music in the Cider Shed, carolers strolling the 10-acre grounds or gathering by the bonfire and a pianist presenting holiday favorites in the Visitor Center for visitors admiring the Gingerbread House Contest display.

The most popular feature of Candlelight Stroll are the role-players celebrating the holidays. Mrs. Goodwin welcomes callers to her lavishly decorated Victorian mansion. Mrs. Shapiro prepares potato latkes and applesauce for Hannukah in her 1919 kitchen. Mrs. Abbott sells penny candy in the 1940s Abbott Store. Museum volunteers and junior role-players help depict the “Winter’s Eve” in their houses while craftsmen demonstrate tinsmith, coopering and hearth-cooking in different locations around the site.

“Each year, we make Candlelight Stroll different, while keeping all the cherished traditions our visitors anticipate experiencing, alive,” said Lawrence J. Yerdon, Strawbery Banke Museum president and CEO. “This year our theme is ‘Winter’s Eve on Puddle Dock’ portrayed in different eras of our 300-plus-year history in this Portsmouth waterfront neighborhood through its seasonal sights, sounds and aromas.”

Candlelight Stroll is a multigenerational experience, blending romantic settings with fond family memories. A traditional St. Nicholas in velvet robes greets wide-eyed children. Members of the gardens staff and volunteers show families hands-on techniques for making their own wreaths, pressed-flower greeting cards and herbal extracts in the Jackson House Discovery Center. Light refreshments are offered in the Cider Shed and Museum Store and a supper menu is served in the Revolutionary-era Pitt Tavern.

Candlelight Stroll takes place Dec. 1-2, 8-9 and 15-16. Saturday hours are 5-9 p.m.; Sunday hours are 4-8 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults; $10 for children 5-17 and free to children under 5. Family ticket is $50 for two adults and accompanying children under 17. Tickets are available on the Museum website starting Nov. 1. There is a $2 per ticket discount for tickets purchased between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. Tickets may also be purchased in the Strawbery Banke Museum Store, open daily 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free parking and free admission at all times for the Museum Store. For information, call 603-433-1100 or visit www.strawberybanke.org

Candlelight Stroll is a co-anchor with The Music Hall for the Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth celebration, now in its ninth year. With live holiday programming, classic holiday films, an authentic “1836 Portsmouth Nutcracker” performed by Great Bay Academy of Dance, and a community Messiah Sing!, The Music Hall gathers the performing arts traditions of the holidays, under one lavish Victorian concert hall roof.

“The Music Hall, with its landmark Victorian theater (one of the prettiest theaters in America) is also the most popular New Hampshire performing arts center recognized nationally for its programming; and Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth is no exception,” said Patricia Lynch, executive director and lead curator of The Music Hall. “Expect lavish decorations in the both the historic theater and the chic new loft, top flight comedians spoofing the holidays, great holiday music from legends like Natalie MacMaster, literary events, and of course magical holiday treats. When I created Vintage Christmas back in 2005 and approached our partner Strawbery Banke Museum, I envisioned that Portsmouth could become the Christmas Capital of North America, and well 2012, here we are!”

With The Music Hall, Strawbery Banke Candlelight Stroll, tax-free shopping in festively-decorated shops and a free city-funded Vintage Christmas Trolley linking the key sites and downtown hotels and parking areas, Portsmouth can claim title to “Christmas Capital of North America.” For more information about Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth, visit www.vintagechristmasnh.org.